igloo
Americannoun
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an Inuit house, being a dome-shaped hut usually built of blocks of hard snow.
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Informal. any dome-shaped construction thought to resemble an igloo.
immense silos topped with steel igloos.
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Military. a dome-shaped building for the storage of rockets or other munitions.
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an excavation made by a seal in the snow over its breathing hole in the ice.
noun
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a dome-shaped Inuit house, usually built of blocks of solid snow
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a hollow made by a seal in the snow over its breathing hole in the ice
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of igloo
First recorded in 1855–60, igloo is from the Inuit word iglu “house”
Explanation
An igloo is a type of hut built from snow, mainly by Inuits. An igloo has a domed shape and is made of compacted bricks of snow. Igloos, which are entirely built of snow blocks, have mostly been constructed by the Inuit tribes that live in parts of Canada and Greenland. Other Inuit groups have used snow, instead, to insulate homes made from other materials. Some igloos are built for temporary shelter, while others are permanent, warm housing in very cold climates. The noun igloo comes from an Inuit word, iglu, which means simply "house," no matter what it's constructed from.
Vocabulary lists containing igloo
Civilizations of the Americas, Lessons 3–4
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The Inuit Thought of It
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The igloo appeared as so-called "snow rollers" were being created in fields across the west mainland of Orkney.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026
The polar station resembles an igloo placed on top of a large buoy.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
Being in Canada, you weren’t in an igloo somewhere; you were living 50 miles from the border.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2025
The business has invested in new glass igloo huts to attract tourists year-round.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2024
It was not so good as the igloo we had made at Rainy Pass, but it kept out the fierce wind.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
The hotel’s rooftop bar hosts a New Year’s Eve party, which recently featured heated private igloos and 360-degree views of Manhattan’s fireworks show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
In addition, the area included small fire pits, heated igloos, carnival games and food trucks.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 29, 2023
His soldiers learned much from the Inuit, including building igloos, deciphering the meaning of snowdrifts, ice fishing, hunting and butchering caribou — and observing the moon dog and sun dog.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2023
Benoiston created the Igloo Beach Lodge in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, with 24 vine-covered igloos surrounding a small pool.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
And when the clouds finally shredded themselves and the silvered moon looked down upon Phippsburg again, it looked down upon a town strangely changed, its sheds turned into hills, its woodpiles into igloos.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
